Richest Ganpati mandal received ₹8 crore in donations

The mandal also received jewellery worth more than Rs10 lakh

The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Mandal displays the offerings of its thousands of devotees on Monday.(Bhushan Koyande/HT)

The richest Ganpati mandal in the city, Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti, King’s Circle received Rs8.15 crore donations in cash, around 30 lakh more than last year’s collections.

The mandal also received jewellery worth more than Rs10 lakh. Satish Nayak, a member of the mandal trust said they got around 350g gold, valued approximately at Rs10 lakh and 1.5kg silver worth Rs70,000. The mandal expects around Rs1 crore from advertisements and sponsors.

However, Lalbaugcharaja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal’s donations seem to have dipped compared to last year. The most famous mandal in Mumbai just more than Rs6.5 crore in cash compared to Rs7.5 crore last year. The mandal is still counting the large mound of coins left by devotees. It also received more than 5kg gold and 79 kg silver donations this year compared to 6.5kg gold and 101kg silver last year.

The mandal has begun its annual auction of the idol’s jewellery. “This year, the auction includes a 1.16kg gold charan (feet), a 123g gold necklace, two chains weighing 100g each, four gold biscuits of 100g each and four motor bikes,” said Mahesh Jadhav, treasurer of Lalbaugcha Raja.

Mandal members from GSB Wadala told HT they are yet to finish counting donations. “We fetched close to Rs60 lakh in donations with around 25-30% of the donations yet to be counted,” said Ulhas Kamat, president of the GSB Seva Mandal. “The figures are likely to increase from last year’s count. We don’t weigh and count gold and silver donations,” he said.

Lalbaug Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, Ganesh Galli’s figures have been dwindling over the years as it received just Rs40 lakh in cash donations while the jewellery count still underway. The amount is exactly half of what the mandal earned last year.